J.C. Penney drops on lackluster results

J.C. Penney fell the most in more than four months after posting fourth-quarter same-store sales that rose less than analysts estimated.

The shares fell 13 percent to $4.93 at 1:03 p.m. in New York and earlier plunged as much as 14 percent for the biggest intraday decline since Sept. 27. J.C. Penney had slid 71 percent in the 12 months through Monday.

Sales at locations open at least a year rose 2 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, which runs through January, the Plano, Texas-based company said Tuesday in a statement. The average of 12 analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg was for a 4.1 percent gain. Same-store sales climbed 3.1 percent in the nine weeks through November and December, J.C. Penney said.